The problem of rising violence is linked to the easier access to alcohol which youth now enjoys.

This was the view expressed by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Condon, in a recent interview in The Independent. He pointed out that young people have more money and a greater choice of places to drink. Sir Paul also blamed today's drug and rave culture, a view which is also discussed in the newly published report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Here the comment is made that "deeply felt anxieties about the effects of popular entertainments on the morals of young people have been expressed in Britain (sic) since early Victorian times." Such attitudes, the report suggests, should be seen in their historical context.

The Commissioner said, "Where I think there has been a real increase is violence between young people linked to drink...It is about the relative affluence of young people and their ability to drink and club." The Home Office's chief criminologist concurs with him in blaming the nationwide rise in assaults, at least in part, on the greater number of people who can afford to drink excessively. This is in accord with a Home Office study published in 1990 which showed that crimes ofviolence tend to increase with prosperity, specifically with the enhanced ability of young men to buy beer and visit pubs and clubs. Indeed, the study found that growth in beer consumption was the single most important factor in explaining growth in violence against the person.

Police statistics show an annual growth in crimes of violence every year for the last decade. In Manchester, for example, there was a huge 50 per cent increase in such offences during the last year, and in 1997 they constituted 8 per cent of all crime. In London, against a background of an overall drop in crime, there was a 6 per cent upsurge in violent offences.

Whilst, on the one hand, the Home Office is expressing concern at this trend, it is also reviewing licensing laws with the possibility of introducing new laws to allow all-night drinking by the turn of the century. A variety of interested parties, including representatives of the police, brewers, local authorities, and magistrates has claimed that support is growing for this measure.

One tactic which Sir Paul's own force, the Metropolitan Police, is considering is "naming and shaming" pubs and clubs which have a reputation for violence. One police station in central London is planning to release the names to the press and report pubs with a high incidence of violence to the brewers, presumably on the assumption that they would wish to avoid adverse publicity and consequent loss of custom. Sir Paul believes that such schemes will become common as soon as the new Criminal Justice Act comes into force. This will oblige all police forces and local authorities to take crime reduction into consideration in their strategic decisions.

If the Commissioner and the chief criminologist's views of the situation are correct, then they may come into some degree of conflict with Home Office minister, George Howarth, who is leading the move to modernise licensing laws, or help "blow away the cobwebs in British life" as he puts it. Echoing his Tory predecessors, Mr Howarth said that the current licensing laws "no longer reflect modern leisure activities or the needs of business." He was speaking at a lunch given by the British Institute of Innkeeping whose members welcomed the idea of liberalising the law as it stands at the moment.

"Our first task is to examine the current system and come up with practical proposals for change which will command wide support from both the public and the industry," said Mr Howarth. "Paramount in drawing up proposals will be balancing the rights of business and consumers with residents' rights to be free from disorder and violence, or other kinds of disturbance. This will be a major task and will take time if it is done properly."

Workers in public health question what consumer rights could be better served by the opportunity to drink round the clock. The advantages to the industry are more apparent.

A statement issued by the Home Office said that all licensing issues would be looked at "including what type of licences there should be, who should licence(sic), licence hours and conditions, the process of issuing them and their enforcement." At the present time magistrates grant licences in England and Wales, whereas in Scotland this is done by local councils. In the light of the continued increase in alcohol-related violence, the likely consequences of changes to any part of the licensing laws will also need to be a major consideration.

LONDON — British doctors called for a ban on alcohol advertisements Tuesday, saying the move was necessary to challenge Britain’s dangerous drinking culture.

The British Medical Association argued in a report that a rapid increase in alcohol consumption among young Britons in recent years was being underpinned by “clever alcohol advertising” and that a prohibition on alcohol-related publicity was needed to help turn the situation around.

“Our society is awash with pro-alcohol messaging and marketing,” Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, the association’s head of science and ethics, said in a statement. “We need to look beyond young people and at society as a whole.”

The association, which represents more than two-thirds of Britain’s practicing doctors, has repeatedly warned of the dangers of the country’s increasingly deadly drinking habit. In a widely publicized report last year, the association said Britain was among the hardest-drinking countries in Europe and noted its alcohol-related death rate had nearly doubled between 1991 and 2005 — from 6.9 to 12.9 per 100,000 people.

Although the group has lobbied for higher taxes and stricter regulation in the past, its new report called for a total ban on all alcohol advertisements.

The report called for the drinks industry to be banned from sponsoring sporting events like the FA Cup — currently backed by Danish brewer Carlsberg — or the Grand National race — whose title sponsor is John Smith’s Ale. It also said alcohol ads should be wiped from newspapers and billboards and kicked off radio and television.

British brewers acknowledged that the country’s drinking culture could use changing, but said bans and higher taxes weren’t the answer.

“We believe culture change is more likely to be achieved through long-term education and tough enforcement,” said Jeremy Beadles, the chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

Britain’s government would not be drawn on the idea of an ad ban. The Department of Health said in a statement that “it’s not always right to legislate,” while the Advertising Standards Authority said its codes were already “among the strictest in the world.”